(no subject)
Jun. 17th, 2006 09:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarahx16 June: And the new score is...
Most Brits would be hard pressed to pinpoint Gelsenkirchen on a map; it´s one of those small towns in Germany´s industrial heartland that all seem to merge into one big blur of factories. It´s hardly a throbbing metropolis, but it´s home to Schalke, one of Germany´s top teams at the moment, and their stadium is one of the finest in Europe.
Like Cardiff´s Millennium Stadium and the Ajax Arena in Amsterdam, the roof closes. But there the resemblance ends. Not for Schalke the constant re-laying of the pitch because the grass doesn´t get enough light. Oh no. They just wheel the entire playing surface underneath the seats and outside into the open air between games, so it gets to see the sun and rain and the grass can grow. It´s insane, inspired and incredibly impressive.
The stadium is about five miles outside the centre of Gelsenkirchen, reached by tram from teh main station. The fans sardined onto the trams leaving no room for anyone to get on at any of the stops further down the line, though no-one seemed to have told the driver who insisted on opening the doors for the frustrated waiting fans every time. Mercifully they didn´t try to squeeze in, as I was already squashed more closely than was entirely pleasant between a large German and an even larger Argentinian, and that was more than cosy enough.
Argentina were playing two countries for the price of one - the soon-to-split Serbia & Montenegro - and both sets of fans were in fine voice as they spilled out onto the stadium´s purpose-built station at the end of the line. A wide pathway wound its way around the groud delivering supporters to the security checks, which once again didn´t involve the threatened passport checks. So much for people being unable to get in with the wrong names on their tickets.
The staircases wound their way around the outside of the stadium, leading to a big open concourse upstairs. Then through the huge doors out to the stands and... wow. An hour before the game wiht msses of empty seats still, and the sound of the Serbian fans nearby whistling the Argentinian players as they ran onto the pitch to warm up echoed around as the closed roof bounced the sound back and forth.
Yes, it may have been a fine day outside, but they´d left the roof shut regardless to ensure playing conditions were perfect. And what an arena to watch footy in. More than 50,000 seats fill the huge closed blue bowl of an arena, with a vast four-sided bank of TV screens suspended from the roof mid-pitch, giving everyone a perfect view of the replays. My seat may have been ´restricted view´ behind a set of safety railings, but five rows back in the upper tier right behind the goal it was hardly going to wreck my enjoyment of the match - and saved me 40% of the cost of the ticket. Bargain.
Any thoughts that the S&M players might have had of providing hte tournament´s first big upset were pretty much wrecked after just six minutes. Maxi Rodriguez picked up a great pass from Saviola, splitting hte hapless Serbian defence and hammered the ball home. THe Argentinian fans bounced. The Serbian fans sang. There was most of the match left to play, and they were going to come back, weren´t they?
Erm, no. S&M seemed determined to try and tackle their way out of trouble, but merely succeeded in picking up yellow cards rather than knocking the Argies off their game. Riquelme and Saviola bossed the midfield, and goal number two came on the half hour when defender Cambiasso blasted a neat backheel from Hernan Crespo into the back of hte net. The Argentinian fans twirled their scarves in celebration, and the first Mexican wave of the day preceded goal number three, from that man Rodriguez again. The Serb fans were strangely subdued going into half time, fearing a rout was inevitable.
It was. Although their heroes started the second half brightly with a shot on target (their only one of the match!) after 30 seconds, the Argies were passing the ball around between themselves after just five minutes. Chelsea misfit Mateja Kezman was sent off for a shocking two-footed tackle, and fellow Premiership failure Savo Milosevic signed off on his 100th cap by being whistled as he was subbed after 70 minutes - though I´ve no idea whether the whistles were for him or his departure! Lionel Messi came on for Rodriguez and promptly sent a super ball across the goal for Crespo to slide into the net. As the stadium announcer said, ´And the new score is... 4-0!´
The pain wasn´t over for the hapless Serbs. Sub Carlos Tevez nutmegged one defender, beat a second, and hit the net. And to complete the rout that had threatened at half time, more mickey-taking pass-around football culminated in Messi making it 6-0. Serbian heads dropped as Maradona was pictured on the big screen twirling his scarf.
It was a great performance by Argentina. They played far better than the Brazilians had in their opening game, and itäs difficult to see how England could hope to beat them on current form. A quarter-final exit to the old enemy could well be on the cards again. If we can beat Germany or Ecuador in the next round, that is...
Photos are here
Most Brits would be hard pressed to pinpoint Gelsenkirchen on a map; it´s one of those small towns in Germany´s industrial heartland that all seem to merge into one big blur of factories. It´s hardly a throbbing metropolis, but it´s home to Schalke, one of Germany´s top teams at the moment, and their stadium is one of the finest in Europe.
Like Cardiff´s Millennium Stadium and the Ajax Arena in Amsterdam, the roof closes. But there the resemblance ends. Not for Schalke the constant re-laying of the pitch because the grass doesn´t get enough light. Oh no. They just wheel the entire playing surface underneath the seats and outside into the open air between games, so it gets to see the sun and rain and the grass can grow. It´s insane, inspired and incredibly impressive.
The stadium is about five miles outside the centre of Gelsenkirchen, reached by tram from teh main station. The fans sardined onto the trams leaving no room for anyone to get on at any of the stops further down the line, though no-one seemed to have told the driver who insisted on opening the doors for the frustrated waiting fans every time. Mercifully they didn´t try to squeeze in, as I was already squashed more closely than was entirely pleasant between a large German and an even larger Argentinian, and that was more than cosy enough.
Argentina were playing two countries for the price of one - the soon-to-split Serbia & Montenegro - and both sets of fans were in fine voice as they spilled out onto the stadium´s purpose-built station at the end of the line. A wide pathway wound its way around the groud delivering supporters to the security checks, which once again didn´t involve the threatened passport checks. So much for people being unable to get in with the wrong names on their tickets.
The staircases wound their way around the outside of the stadium, leading to a big open concourse upstairs. Then through the huge doors out to the stands and... wow. An hour before the game wiht msses of empty seats still, and the sound of the Serbian fans nearby whistling the Argentinian players as they ran onto the pitch to warm up echoed around as the closed roof bounced the sound back and forth.
Yes, it may have been a fine day outside, but they´d left the roof shut regardless to ensure playing conditions were perfect. And what an arena to watch footy in. More than 50,000 seats fill the huge closed blue bowl of an arena, with a vast four-sided bank of TV screens suspended from the roof mid-pitch, giving everyone a perfect view of the replays. My seat may have been ´restricted view´ behind a set of safety railings, but five rows back in the upper tier right behind the goal it was hardly going to wreck my enjoyment of the match - and saved me 40% of the cost of the ticket. Bargain.
Any thoughts that the S&M players might have had of providing hte tournament´s first big upset were pretty much wrecked after just six minutes. Maxi Rodriguez picked up a great pass from Saviola, splitting hte hapless Serbian defence and hammered the ball home. THe Argentinian fans bounced. The Serbian fans sang. There was most of the match left to play, and they were going to come back, weren´t they?
Erm, no. S&M seemed determined to try and tackle their way out of trouble, but merely succeeded in picking up yellow cards rather than knocking the Argies off their game. Riquelme and Saviola bossed the midfield, and goal number two came on the half hour when defender Cambiasso blasted a neat backheel from Hernan Crespo into the back of hte net. The Argentinian fans twirled their scarves in celebration, and the first Mexican wave of the day preceded goal number three, from that man Rodriguez again. The Serb fans were strangely subdued going into half time, fearing a rout was inevitable.
It was. Although their heroes started the second half brightly with a shot on target (their only one of the match!) after 30 seconds, the Argies were passing the ball around between themselves after just five minutes. Chelsea misfit Mateja Kezman was sent off for a shocking two-footed tackle, and fellow Premiership failure Savo Milosevic signed off on his 100th cap by being whistled as he was subbed after 70 minutes - though I´ve no idea whether the whistles were for him or his departure! Lionel Messi came on for Rodriguez and promptly sent a super ball across the goal for Crespo to slide into the net. As the stadium announcer said, ´And the new score is... 4-0!´
The pain wasn´t over for the hapless Serbs. Sub Carlos Tevez nutmegged one defender, beat a second, and hit the net. And to complete the rout that had threatened at half time, more mickey-taking pass-around football culminated in Messi making it 6-0. Serbian heads dropped as Maradona was pictured on the big screen twirling his scarf.
It was a great performance by Argentina. They played far better than the Brazilians had in their opening game, and itäs difficult to see how England could hope to beat them on current form. A quarter-final exit to the old enemy could well be on the cards again. If we can beat Germany or Ecuador in the next round, that is...
Photos are here
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-17 06:57 pm (UTC)Are there any more matches you've got tickets for?